Pumpkin Cornbread Muffins

I was looking for something to complement a fall soup when I came across this keeper. It instantly appealed: the pumpkin would add moisture to the cornbread and the corn meal would temper the sometimes-too-sweet of the pumpkin. Which is exactly how they came together. Toss in the honey for a more flavorful, healthful sweetener. Use a gluten-free flour blend to make this completely gluten-free (it’s already almost there with so much of the grain being corn). However you stir it up, expect moist, filling, earthy muffins that taste like the very essence of fall.

Ingredients

3/4 cup flour (I used Bob’s Red Mill Gluten-Free Baking Flour to make these gluten free; all-purpose flour or whole wheat pastry flour would also be good choices.)

1 Tbsp. aluminum-free baking powder

1/2 tsp. baking soda

3/4 tsp. fine sea salt

1 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg

1/4 tsp. ground cloves

4 Tbsp. butter, melted

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 400°F. Grease or line with paper cups standard-sized muffin tins.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the pumpkin, milk, honey and eggs.

In a large bowl, whisk together the cornmeal, flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and spices.

Add the wet ingredients and melted butter to the dry ingredients and mix until just combined. Do not over-mix.

Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin tins, filling each cup full, and bake for 15-20 minutes, or until the tops are lightly browned and set. Let cool in the pan for about 10 minutes, then serve warm or transfer to a rack to cool completely.